| abstract |
A process of removing titanium nitride from a surface of a substrate includes: providing a process gas including at least one reactant selected from the group consisting of a fluorine-containing substance and a chlorine-containing substance; enriching the process gas with at least one reactive species of the at least one reactant to form an enriched process gas, wherein the enriching is conducted at a first location; providing the substrate at a substrate temperature greater than 50° C., wherein the surface of the substrate is at least partially coated with the titanium nitride; and contacting the titanium nitride on the surface of the substrate with the enriched process gas to volatilize and remove the titanium nitride from the surface of the substrate, wherein the contacting occurs at a second location differing from the first location. |